One of the most laid back but groovy versions of Viola Lee Blues I have heard. Love it!

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FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!FREAK FREELY!!!!

some unique and fun stuff here, truly the best fun you could possibly have on earth those acid tests were to paraphrase jerr

there may be alot of garbage noise on this collection, but between it are some of the best jams from the early era, well worth the listen. this collection along with a few others from early 1966 provide a glimpse into what happened when one sampled the "Kool-Aid"

Man, considering how nuts some of those Dead shows in the eighties got to be, it is no wonder there is so much confusion around the tests in '66. This stuff is just awesome - seems most of this set is in fact from Ivar if currently circulating setlists are to be believed. Given all the research up to now, I'd have to think this is not 3/12 at all...

but it doesn't really matter all that much, does it? Any more '66 out there? What became of 2/12/66? Seems we barely know what happened that night...

this is a super-groovy bit of audio history if you wake up every morning and wish you were born in the late 40s like i do. the acid tests are nowhere near as well-documented as they should have been. an integral part of psychedelic and popular culture, if bits and pieces like this are as close as i can get that's fine...i enjoyed this very much so indeed, yep. anyone know who the cat is doing most of the raps? yes, yes, i'm not hip enough to know...but surely someone is? i dig "the butcher is back" big time. oh, the dead stuff is great too, not my first choice of dead shows to listen to (i prefer when things get a little farther "out")...but that's not why i'm here anyway. "next time you see me" is particulary well done, and dig the banter afterwards...the "ice cream man" thing is a gas.
oh, by the way "some day ron will take acid"...you can hear bobby say that during the "who cares" rap...beyond priceless!!!

I have the Pico Acid Test Version as well. It is pretty damn tight! My favorite early recording.

This show is seemingly the predecessor to the many blues inspired versions of songs they play in the future IE Little Red Rooster, Walkin Blues and the like. My favorite Next Time you see me and Midnight Hour of all time. (as far as what went on to be played frequently) The show is very soulfull and you can tell this was a time period where Pigpen had alot of influence on the music. Overall one of my all-time favorites- 5 stars

Found an interesting alternate set for this same date up on the bt.etree, source is sketchy but theres a good chance it could be SBD>MR>?>Vinyl ? > CD>SHN. Different, but hell, both of these are pretty intense :-)

Grateful Dead
Pico Acid Test
Danish Center
Los Angeles, CA
03/12/66

Source: ??? > CD > EAC > CDWave > SHN

1. //Viola Lee Blues
2. //One Kind Favor
3. I Know You Rider
4. You See A Broken Broken Heart
5. It's A Sin
6. PA Complaints
7. Beat It On Down The Line
8. PA, Etc.
9. Heads Up (Instrumental)
10. PA, Etc.
11. Next Time You See Me
12. Ice Cream Break
13. Stormy Monday Jam
14. //Death Don't Have No Mercy
15. In The Midnite Hour//
Total Time: 66:20

As we now know from the Rare Cuts & Oddities release--which includes Hey Little One and the King Bee -> Caution combo--3/12/66 is indeed the correct date for the main setlist (On the Road Again-> -> -> Caution).

On the Road Again is the same performance as on the So Many Roads box, so the exact date for that track can now be pinpointed, too.

Cold Rain in '66 is the same arrangement as '67, but IMHO they haven't fully tapped into its pulse yet--listen to the fully amped version from Monterey.

Hey Little One is just a gem. Beautiful song, and impassioned vocals by Jerry. How rare to hear Jerry belting it out over a girl! It's my favorite cut on Rare Tracks & Oddities, and~ along with In the Pines & the early Nobody's Fault But Mine~ the most significant buried nugget unearthed from the '66 archives, to my taste.

But this Caution is certainly treasure, too. It's like an extendo version of the Emergency Crew demo. Phil's bass notes are choppier than later versions where he let them sustain, so the rhythm section is closer to the chugging train sound that per Phil's book inspired it (though I admit I prefer the classic post-Anthem versions with the big fat bass runs). Don't get me wrong, though, Phil is having a good time here. The whole band is, energy is high, the dynamics are simply less than they would become.

5 stars for historical value (and I can't get enough '66, keep the excavations coming), but in fairness to the truly best of Dead performances, I'm calling this a 4.

As for Schoolgirl -> You Don't Love Me-> Schoolgirl....SMOKIN'!!! You Don't Love Me is yet another lost goldpiece from Jerry's pocket. Is this the first known Dead sandwiche? Per Owsley, per the (blessed) researcher who posted on the Aug 1 '66 date for this material, its likely true origin is late April '66.

Just to make a correction on the Pico Acid Test....the title of the song is "See My Grave Is Kept Clean" (originally by Blind Lemon Jefferson), not "One Kind Favor".

Also from the Pico Acid Test, Jerry plays some licks in the first 3 minutes of "In The Midnight Hour" I've never heard him play! Fantastic! Some good singing from Jerry on "It's A Sin" and Bobby on BIODTL.

All this early material is fascinating to say the least!

The Viola Lee that leads off the 3-song abbreviated version that is listed as 3.12.66 on disc 2 of the Acid Test set circulating here is in fact from 12.1.66. That suggests the conclusion that the Viola Lee from this expanded edition of 3.12.66 is the one they actually played with the rest of the material marked "3.12.66 expanded." Whether this really is the Pico Acid test at all is, of course, still open to speculation.

deadbase labels this show as Danish Center, Los Angeles, Ca. (Sat), and set list includes:
Viola Lee Blues, One Kind Favor, I Know You Rider, You See A Broken Heart, It's A Sin, BIODTL, Heads Up Jam, Next Time, Death Don't, Midnight Hour

The source for some of the Garcia and Kesey talk is from a 1981 TV broadcast of a morning show hosted by Tom Snyder? Donahue?. I think the Tomorrow Show? Garcia talks about the Acid Tests and being too high to play, . Kesey is asked if he is okay....loaded or whatever....this is from that time. I have a video tape at home. The Dead do an acoustic set.

While Wolfe's book is certainly a fascinating read, don't take it as gospel. Kesey and others commented that Wolfe didn't spend much time with them, didn't share in the electric beverages, and took generous liberties with his story. These tapes give a pretty good idea of what actually went on at the Tests. Sometimes wild, more often dull, but always good and weird.

Absolutely an essential compliment to digging these recordings is to read the book. I was blown away to finally hear some of the actual tapes being described in the book, as well as having quite a bit of background info into the enviroment they were made.

Another good source of for those curious is "the furthur inquiry" by Ken. It contains an awesome collection of photographs from the bus trip 1963-64.

For those of you that find this to be obvious info, go back to sleep.

In August of 2004, my wife and I went to a DSO concert, where we found many of todays supposed psychedelic voyagers did not even know the song "The Promised Land". They would come up to me and ask, "Dude, what's that song?"

What this means is two things. (1) The memory of the Dead is starting to fade from the culture. (2) The memory of the great Chuck Berry is also starting to fade.

If you are scratching your head and going, "Huh, dude?," over the six acid test discs, then I beg you; please, please, please, read "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe. Not only will it give you juicy tidbits about the early psychedelic movement, but it is also a fun read. I promise that if you read this book, then the six Acid Test discs will make a lot more sense, so to speak.

Sincerely,

A concerned Soundlunker